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Fairy Streams

Yes, it was decided by the young couple that before they could venture into the village of humans and begin their work caring for the animals that lived there, they would have the ritual of union. This is somewhat like the marriage ceremony in the world of the humans, but it’s simpler, yet it is magical and wondrous. One also never knows what is going to happen at this ritual.

All of the fairies, young and old, gathered to plan the ritual, which was going to take place when the moon was full. It just so happens that the moon was going to be full the very next evening. Moon Fall and Star Gazer happily disappeared into the forest to write their oaths to one another and make plans for their move. Oh, it was an exciting afternoon and evening for all in the Forest of Lang. There had not been a ritual of union for 173 fairy years. Most of the elder fairies made busy with creating a gossamer gown for Moon Fall, while the younger fairies were sent to gather Lilies of The Valley for her wreath. The adult fairies were pulling out age-old recipes of herbal spirits and dandelion treats. The male fairies were tasked with stringing multi-colored crystals gathered from the Stream of Greenwood, for necklaces and rings to be presented to the young couple upon taking their oaths of union. However, the oldest of the elder fairies, was fashioning – what would likely be the most treasured gift of all – a basket woven of the most valued wheat grass in the forest…golden crib and locket grass; the strongest grass ever known. Why, baskets that held volumes of gold were made of this special grass. It was strong and held fast, even when carrying a very heavy treasure. THIS basket would, indeed, carry a valued treasure.

Once all the tasks had been completed and the elder fairies bestowed their approval upon the gown, the jewelry, the drink and food (no one was to see the basket, nor did the oldest elder fairy require or even consider approval), all fairies, young and old, proceeded to rest, for the next day would bring so much excitement!

Meanwhile, Moon Fall and Star Gazer were sitting around a tall oak tree, with their backs leaning against it, as they were composing their oaths. Every so often, Moon Fall would stop and gaze up into the sunbeams peeking through the branches and she would smile. Secretly, she wanted to let loose with a primal scream of pure joy, but feared it would frighten Star Gazer so much he would take flight and never return. The happiness she felt was literally making her heart beat quickly, more so than usual. She found she could barely walk anymore; every other step was taken on air, not the ground. Why, even at times, she had to take a deep breath and fill her lungs with air so that she would be more grounded. Star Gazer was deliriously happy, but being the planner that he was, he also was making plans for them for their new life. It was important to him that they be able to pursue their passion of caring for animals and the thought of giving care to animals that were deprived of it, was an honor for him and for his Love.

Before long, the sun had disappeared and the moon was rising high in the night sky. Not quite a full moon, but large enough to cast light upon the busy fairies as they finished their tasks and prepared to sleep. Moon Fall and Star Gazer had finished their oaths and each departed to spend one last night with their families. Star Gazer gently kissed her. She looked up at him and threw her arms around his neck and whispered, “This time tomorrow, we shall be making our pledges to one another and then…” Star Gazer stepped back and laughed out loud saying, “Yes, we will be three!”

The next morning, the sun had not even risen and the forest was busy with activity! The clearing in the forest was being prepared for the ceremony. Flower petals were being gathered and placed into the special baskets for the flower fairies to prepare the way for the bride to walk the aisle. Only special flower petals were used and so it was rather time-consuming finding them, but the search yielded lovely ones and the fairies had great fun while looking.

Now, behind the scene, so to speak, the wood nymphs had their own tasks to complete. These were tasks that were carried out with great love and joy, for they were in charge of preparing and guarding the special tree in that clearing (circle). The tree was hundreds of years old and bore its age with great beauty and grace. The long limbs and branches of the tree were strong, yet feminine and seemed to sway in the breeze, even if there wasn’t a breeze. The colors of green in the leaves were many; light, medium and dark and every shade of green in-between. The wood of the trunk glistened as if it was made of marble and gold. This grand tree was actually an Angel Oak, which towered over most of the forest trees. There was not another tree like this one for hundreds of miles and so the legend in the Forest of Lang was that this oak tree was sent to this particular forest to watch over the forest and its inhabitants. But the Angel Tree did even more for the forest, which you’ll learn about soon enough.

Meanwhile, Moon Fall was bathing in the Golden Falls of the forest, with the animals standing by as guards and assistants to the bride-to-be. Robins and blue birds held her robe for her as she emerged from the pool at the foot of the falls. Crows carried the towel for her hair and swept it round and round like a turban on her head. “Oh, thank you all so very much for everything.” Moon Fall was smiling as she made her way to her little home to get ready for the ceremony. “I’m so excited and happy! This is the most wonderful day of my life,” she said. All the birds chirped their happiness. Fairies were beginning to arrive to ready her for the wedding.

Star Gazer had been ready for hours! He was walking through the forest and his heart was full of love for Moon Fall and he was looking forward to their life together – married and doing what they loved: caring for animals. Star Gazer’s mind was racing through a number of thoughts, but the main thought that kept coming was that of Moon Gazer, the magical and wonderful fairy he has loved for so long. At last, they would be wed to one another. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the cracking of dry leaves behind him or the whispering in the trees; for the creatures of the forest had been instructed to keep an eye on him and make sure he was at the ceremony on time. Young fairies were flying through the trees, somewhat silently – but not quite – watching Star Gazer’s every move to ensure he was safe and back home on time.

The time for the wedding was drawing near. Moon Fall was dressed in an exquisite gown of gossamer, lace and silk. The special jewels and crystals adorned her dark hair and her bouquet was made up of Sunflowers, Daisies, White Morning Glories, and Baby’s Breath, with just a touch of Queen Anne’s Lace. Long tendrils of silk fell from the bouquet, with little pearls sewn into the silken ribbons. The Elder Fairies stood back and just sighed with love for her. Thoughts of her as a wee baby flew through their minds and like a film; photos of her throughout the years were dancing about. Each Elder Fairy took their turn whispering something into her ear and placing a small “something” in her palms, which she then placed into the lace purse on her right wrist. It was tradition within the fairy kingdom that when a young fairy marries, each of the Elder Fairies presents her with a special gem and/or crystal which serves a special purpose in the life of the bride: from health to goodness to protection. These were treasures that fairies passed on throughout the generations.

“Well, dearies! It is time to begin making our way to the clearing.” The eldest of the Elder Fairies took her place beside Moon Fall, to guide her toward her future.

Back in the circle and in the branches of the Angel Oak, the wood nymphs had checked everything in, around and below the oak one more time, and then descended for a fast break before the ceremony began. All was ready; even more so than anyone knew…for an unseen and uninvited guest was approaching the side of the Angel Oak that was against the dense forest, the side that no one saw while standing in the clearing. This uninvited guest made its way up the lower trunk of the oak and found a place to settle in, just inside a knot hole. The brown and gold of the guest matched the trunk of Angel Oak so no one would have even noticed anyone or anything not part of the oak.

Now, everything was ready…

Anyway, it was decided by the Elder Fairy and her council that Moon Fall and Star Gazer would be the caretakers of the animals in the village. They also decided that before they could embark upon this important mission, their union must be sealed. I didn’t tell you before that when the union is sealed at the union ritual…remember the tree in the circle with the couple? Once the two fairies are spiritually and magically united, this special tree delivers to them a baby fairy! Yes! It is true!

We have a fairy in our midst who used to be human. She was born human and throughout the years has evolved into a fairy. It does happen sometimes, you know. I bring this to your attention because we have learned so much from her about human beings. Her name is now Oak Willowglimmer. Oak has wonderful memories and shares them with us when we are in our circles at night. One of her earliest memories is seeing fireflies or lightening bugs for the first time. She just knewthey were fairies, although some adults said they were just flying bugs. Oak knew better and refused to catch them in jars like the other children would do. If I remember correctly, she said she was about 3 years old at the time.

Another memory she has is looking under mushrooms that grew in her yard and seeing the little blades of grass that bent over on each side of the mushroom; you know like those concrete tables that have an umbrella in the middle and benches around the table. Oak’s mother told her that fairies had parties at night and would sit around the benches. Isn’t that great?

The soil of the Earth was important to Oak’s mother. Her mother grew up on a farm and her family grew much of their food. Oak’s mother would work the soil in their little backyard by mixing in the compost (right from the kitchen’s green scraps) and mixing in earthworms. On weekends, they would drive around looking for houses with yard clippings out on the road. She knew that beautiful plants and trees would grow from these leftovers, discarded by others.

Oak also grew up with ducks and chickens and enjoyed their wonderful eggs. Her mother was always bringing home a stray cat or dog to live. Once, she let Oak take a fish aquarium and put two frogs in it. Naturally, before long tadpoles were everywhere and they eventually grew into frogs and footmen for princesses.

Now that Oak is a full-fledged fairy, she lives in the world she knewexisted, but was always just a breath away from. She often tells us that if she had not become a fairy, it would be alright because she believed and would always believe because her human mother introduced her to the possibility of believing and encouraged her imagination. Great things grow from imagination, you know.

We fairies often watch children when no one knows and see how children find enchantment in the most obvious places and objects; however their parents often do not see the same. Expensive toys are quickly set aside for magic cardboard boxes that turn into spaceships. A game in the backyard is abandoned when a child sees a wee river of water from a garden hose, that is moving quickly and carrying blades of grass with the current. Well, everyone knows that grass blades are surfboards for fairies.

There is a special lady who creates magic from pieces of nature: nut shells that make a fairy house and stones from a river. She encourages the imagination and creativity of children AND their parents. This lady paints with the children and shows them how to color eggs and so much more. She can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/joyfulartiststudio. Check it out! She posts magical and creative ideas for children. We need more humans to do this. We think that most parents do encourage their children, but the rest of the family and adult friends need to do it too. We fairies depend upon the belief that children have in us. We thrive and take great delight seeing a child’s face seeing a fairy for the first time.

Children appreciate magic and fairies. The Earth and the creatures upon it appreciate us as well. In turn, we so appreciate yourchildren and Mother Earth and its creatures. Let’s form a circle of appreciation and work to nurture all children, the Earth and animals. We promise you will never regret it! xoxoxo

Sun Song kept moving toward Sam and the tension grew amongst everyone. Sam’s eyes were darting everywhere as he tried to not look at Sun Sung in the face; which, by the way, seemed to be changing, and changing rather quickly! Oak noticed the changing also and was wringing her hands, as Sherwood and Henry were passing looks back and forth. The two of them, if anyone was watching and thank goodness no one was, were communicating without words. As Sun Song was slowly approaching Sam, Sherwood and Henry were edging closer to her – from the back. One was moving to the left and the other to the right. Sun Song’s focus was so fiercely on Sam, she was unaware of anything. Sam was scared…all of his legs were shaking uncontrollably. Then, he was Sherwood behind the furious fairy. Sherwood was forming a word and Sam recognized it right away. W E A V E weave weave. Yes! He thought! Weave strands of silk – strong silk, so that when she approaches, he can trip her and they can tie her up with the strands. Before they knew it, Sun Song put her arm out and opened her hand to grab Sam. Just then, Henry bellowed like a bull and got everyone off guard. As Sun Song whipped around to see where the bellowing came from, Sam flung the silken strands around her ankles and her arms and then he yanked on the strands, causing her to fall on her side. She was livid and her face was quickly changing colors – BLUE – RED – YELLOW – ORANGE – BLACK – WHITE – PURPLE and on and on – every color you could possibly imagine! Everyone came running to help Sam. “Sam, make more cords so we can be sure she’s tied up securely,” said Henry. As quick as a dime twirling on cement, Sam went into action, whirling out cords and cords. Oak and Sherwood grabbed them and wrapped them wherever they could, tying up this mean, wicked being!

Suddenly, light came into the cave…light so bright and luminous that everyone was temporarily blinded by it. As they blinked and blinked, trying to get their vision back, it became clear to all where the light came from! It was Oak’s mother! “Mother, mother,” Oak ran so hard and fast to her mother that she didn’t even notice that her feet were no longer touching the ground. She was actually flying just a few inches off the ground! Mary held her arms open and tears slid down her cheeks as her daughter flew into her arms. “My darling, my darling little girl. I love you so dearly.” Oak just fell upon her mother’s lap, laughing and sobbing at the same time. She was so happy! “Mother, you cannot possibly imagine what has happened to me! You just can’t! It’s so weird, so scary and so wonderful!” Mary took her daughter’s chin in her hand and said gently, “Yes, my dear, I can. You stumbled into a part of fairy land so absolutely everything has been different for you! I’m just so grateful you are OK. You are the treasure of my life.” Mary leaned down and gently kissed Oak on the forehead.

“Now, everyone! Please step forward and let me see you!” Mary stood and as she did, the most beautiful wings ever seen unfurled from behind her back. Why, they were pink, with hints of turquoise and green and yellow. They sparkled as if diamonds lined the edges of the wings. Oak’s eyes grew so bid and she whispered, “It’s true, it’s true!” “Yes, my dear,” Mary said, “It is true. I am the Queen of the Fairies and it is time for me to take my rightful place. It is also time for you, Oak Willowglimmer, to stand and take yours’ – as Mistress of the Gardens”. Oak rose slowly to her feet, as Sherwood, Henry and Sam stepped forward and bowed to the Queen and to the Princess. Mary held her hand out and the three moved forward. Each knelt and kissed the Queen’s hand. The Queen curtsied back to each one and gave them special names. Sherwood was renamed as “Cat Sherwood, Feline of the Colony”. Henry became “Henry, Hunter of the Forest” and Sam…well, Sam became “Sam, Special Spider of the Kingdom”. “Now, my lovies,” the Queen said to all of them as she took Oak’s hand tightly in hers’, “when we get to our destination, I shall tell you everything!”

So Mary…oh! Her name is “Queen Mary Gossamer Beamfly”. So, Queen Mary Gossamer Beamfly sprinkled fairy dust on all of them and off they flew! Off they flew to the Forest of Fairies.

As for Sun Song? She disappeared! No one saw her leave or heard her leave. Just gone…

Greetings! Please forgive our absence…our fairies came down with a Forest Flu and they were in their beds for over a month! However, they are back! Here’s the first garden they have created in awhile…It is in a vintage ceramic shell planter and that is actually one of this garden’s treasures; the other is the vintage parrot atop the cork. There is a cute little tropical glass fish (it’s winking) in the tidal pool. There are shells throughout the garden that have come from beaches all over Florida. Also, aside from the ground cover planted, there is a shoot of a “mother in-law’s tongue”. It grows well in the sand in Florida. Hope you enjoy it! xoxo

I love this little garden. It’s a very small bright blue bonsai garden, with the land and water feature….simple, with a fairy on a leaf, with the garden’s treasure, a hanging candle for night light, and Timothy, the Toad, is sitting on a boulder in the bonsai pond. Sweet garden! xoxo

She was so relaxed, as she leaned back and went back and forth and back and forth and back and…wait! There was no forth! Oak went back on the swing and stayed there! Since she was in a “laid back” position anyway on the swing, she looked up and there was Sam…all 23 eyes of him…looking back at her! “Hi, Oak! Good to see ya again! Don’t be afraid, but you’re stuck in my web.” Sam kinda hung there, sheepishly looking back and forth, as Oak tried to get her bearings, as she wriggled around on the swing (which wasn’t easy, being hung up in the air like that). “Sam! What?” “Shhhhh,” Sam suddenly grabbed her hands and pulled her off the swing, onto a giant strand of web, which went from one end of the area (she still wasn’t sure what it was) to the other. Somehow, he literally put her on his back and wrapped a quick silk rope around her so she wouldn’t fall. and off they went, scurrying across the strand and then Sam threw (really) webs out of his hands so they could catch hold of each one and swing from one to the other, until they were up and over the gate. Oak could barely catch her breath because Sam flew so quickly. It really was like flying…from silken strand to the next.

Oak must have fallen asleep, because she suddenly found herself in a cave; a cave filled with webs of all colors…gold, silver, red, orange, white, black and on and on. Rather than spiders, there were fairies! Real fairies who were spinning the webs and placing them throughout the cave. Putting her little fists to her eyes to wipe the sleep away, Oak’s eyes opened as big as she could make them. Yes, the webs and the fairies were still there. “Oak!” “Thank goodness, Sam. You’re still with me,” she said as she went to hug him. His hugs were pretty snug because he had so many legs/arms with which to hug. “Of course, Oak, of course I’m with you!” With that, Sam swept her up again and they glided up on a golden strand of silk; the most beautiful golden she had ever seen. Up up up they went until they reached what appeared to be the upper floor of the cave, which really looked like a castle. Sam helped her down off the silken strand, and they walked toward a bright light that was shining from in front of them. The light was glowing and bright, yet not so bright one couldn’t look into it. It was amazing. As they approached the light, Oak could make out the form of a woman. There was something about this woman that seemed sweetly familiar. But, she had a silk veil of butterflies over most of her face and Oak could only see her eyes.

The woman stepped out from the light and just stood still and gazed about her surroundings. Oak noticed that everything was quiet and that the lady was looking over Oak’s head, so Oak turned around and almost gasped with awe, for the cave was now a soft gold and white. The little ledges up and down the walls of the cave had lovely fairies kneeling and facing this woman. Candles and torches were lit and lined the walls and pathways; stars that looked like they came down from the heavens were hanging from above and inside the frame of each star was a fairy playing a harp. The music from these harps was mesmerizing and dreamy. Oak could not stop looking around for in every direction she looked was a new surprise, a new delight. Tree frogs and lizards were dressed in light cotton robes and each had a special hat on that had tiny fireflies circling the brims of the hats. The frogs and lizards were bringing goblets of freshly mined golden grape juice. She knew this because she heard a baby girl fairy telling her friends.

Turning back to the woman, there was now a nest on the ground; or should I say on the “cloud”? First, it was a nest, but a big nest – big enough for a grown up fairy. The nest was made of beautiful twigs of cedar, birch, oak, and pine. Blended into the twigs were stems and leaves from herbs and flowers: lavender, roses petals, sage, rosemary and some marigold. The nest was lined with gardenia and plumeria blossoms. Now, although she thought it was on the floor, it was actually sitting upon a lavender colored cloud that had drifted down from the opening at the top of the cave. When the woman turned to walk toward the nest, that is when Oak saw the woman had wings! She had fairy wings! Not only did she have beautiful fairy wings, she also had hair just like Oak’s mother! It was long and wavy and reddish yellow…such a beautiful color. The woman still had her face veil on, as she went to step into the nest. But then butterflies flew from her veil to lift her long skirt so she would not trip. After she stepped into the nest and sat down, the butterflies then flew into the woman’s hair and became still, like beautiful hair pins.

Everyone in the cave knelt and then slowly rose. As they rose to their feet, the woman began speaking in a soft melodic voice (Oak was thinking it sounded like her mother). Now that she was facing everyone, it could be seen that her eyes were emerald green and soft, as soft as her voice. “My loved ones,” she began. Without warning, a fiery red smoke descended from the opening in the cave (at the top) and began circling the room, almost in the shape of pointing fingers; each poking at a fairy, or a lizard or a frog. The stench was horrific! The smoke seemed to take on the odor of a dead ogre. (Of course, Oak had never seen an ogre, much less smelled a live or dead one, but the smoke smelled like what she thought one would smell like). The ground began to shake and the little ledges that fairies were sitting on began breaking and falling to the earth like shards of glass, trying to stab and cut as they hit the ground. Thunder filled the chamber and was so loud that the fairies had to put their hands over their ears. But the thunder could not disguise or extinguish what Oak heard. It was her mother again, calling, “Oak, Oak, come home. You’re in danger. Come home.”

Turning to ask the fairy lady for help to get to her mother, Oak discovered she was gone! In her place, where the nest was, sat a giant dragon, who was looking straight at Oak, as smoked poured out of his nose. (to be continued)

“Oak, Oak, come home; please come home!” Oak heard her mother’s frantic cry for her, but she was falling so quickly it was all she could do to breathe. For that matter, it was all she could do to really hear her mother’s words, for the chimes, mixed with the thunder were sounding like a giant was stomping and with every stomp, the Earth shook and at the same time it sounded like massive windows of heavy glass were being blown out into a million pieces by an iron ball being directed by a madman driving a crane. Rather than trying to listen to everything, Oak open her eyes in an effort to see if there was something she could grab onto as she was falling. She kept trying to concentrate on not being afraid and to try to figure out what was going on and where she was falling. She thought it was a good thing that she had her pajamas on, rather than a nightgown; but then…maybe not. Perhaps the nightgown would actually have been like a parachute and slow the fall down a little; just a little. Oak started looking at her whereabouts, to try to identify landmarks, like you learn in Brownies. She remembered her leader saying, “When you’re on a trail, always look for things that will stick in your mind so if you get lost, you can maybe backtrack and find your way out”. She was doing that. A birdhouse was on the right. It was painted purple, pink, yellow and white. “I have to remember this birdhouse,” Oak said to herself. “I can do this.” But before she knew it, she passed the same birdhouse again. Or was it? All of a sudden, there were so many birdhouses of all different colors that she became confused. Shutting her eyes tightly, then reopening them did not help.

Then, Oak seemed to feel like she was no longer falling, but was jumping! This was so strange. She could not stop jumping, but as she was, Oak realized something. All this time, she had not been falling down; she was falling up! Up? Can you fall up? “Oh my,” was all Oak could say as she was jumping. Every jump seemed higher than the other or the one before it. Oak was really good at jumping rope; she never ever missed a beat. But now, Oak felt sick to her stomach…really sick. That’s when it happened.

A breeze seemed to be lifting her gingerly up and out of whatever it was that she had been in. It wasn’t a hole; it wasn’t a cup and it sure wasn’t a river, for she wasn’t wet! This breeze made her feel better. Oak was able to get her wits gathered. I mean, for a ten year old girl, the gathering of wits was a feat, but then Oak never backed down from achieving a goal or completing a task. Now I know this all sounds a bit odd. Well, of course it does. Here this little girl encountered a fairy, tons of wild wind chimes, thunder out of nowhere, falling down or falling up and now riding on a breeze. There are more odd things in this world than that.

Oops! Oak fell! Not far, but enough to shake her up a little. Looking up, she saw the breeze had been distracted by a pretty little blue cloud and it decided to head over that way. “This is so strange,” Oak muttered to herself, as she stood up and brushed off her pajamas and set them straight. “What’s strange?” Oak stopped and looked around for the person who said that. There was no one. “Yikes, I must be so tired. I’m hungry too and now I’m hearing things” Oak thought. “Hello? What’s wrong with you? Why don’t you answer?” Oak quickly scanned where she was. It was only now that she realized the breeze had brought her to a sweet little garden; not too big and not too little. It had a cedar tree in the back, pretty purple flowers, and all sorts of plants and such.

Do you ever get the feeling that someone is looking at you? Well, as Oak was looking around this garden, she suddenly felt someone’s eyes on her. Oh, it was strange. She slowly turned around, but no one was there! There was only a little spider hanging from a branch of the cedar tree. Oak generally didn’t care for spiders, but this one was different. It had clothes on or at least it looked like that. She got a little closer and then the spider yelled, “Are you deaf?” Startled, Oak jumped back. She said nothing, just stared and stared. The spider was a creature of action. It sort of pulled itself up by its belt – yes, that’s right, its belt. It then jumped on a silver strand of its web and the strand began swinging. It went back and forth and on one of its forths, the spider leapt onto a leaf very close to Oak. It was pretty obvious the spider was a boy because of his belt, his jeans and his boots. He also had a shirt on with the buttons on the side of the shirt, you know, like boys. I have to add that jeans for spiders are, well, multi-legged. Oak just stared at him and he stared right back at her with 23 eyes! In the background, Oak heard her mother calling for her again. This time it sounded like her mother was crying. Oak felt so sad and the spider could see this.

“Who is that calling” Is it your mother?” By this time, reality set in and Oak realized that she was far far away from home and her mother; she was so lonely and scared. Nodding, Oak began to cry. This made the spider feel badly and he sat down on the leaf. “I’m Sam Spider, Jr.” Sam put out two of his arms to shake her hand, but then decided against it, knowing she was already distraught. She looked up and Sam winked at her. Although Sam had 23 eyes, he was very coordinated and winked with 17 of them. “Oh”, said Oak. “That’s really neat!” “Aw.” Sam said as he bashfully looked down – well, 12 of his eyes looked down, the others crossed. “Sam, I miss my mother. I miss her so much. I worry about her too. She must think something horrible happened to me.” Sam cocked his head and said, “No, Oak. Believe me, she has a good idea where you are. That’s not to say she’s not worried, for she knows what a strange land this place is.” Just as he finished is, a giant mushroom suddenly appeared right next to Oak. It was giant, as I said, and was brown and purple. It smiled too! Actually it grinned at both Sam and Oak. This was all so odd; so very odd for Oak. She began to feel lightheaded and woozy again. Oak thought she might fall against the Mushroom because the garden began moving – not spinning, just moving. The flowers were walking, the trees were swaying and the grass began moving, much like a river.

Within a moment of a dream, it was dark! Oak found herself in a swing in the garden and Sam and the Mushroom were nowhere to be found. She began to feel sad and scared and went to slow the swing down, but it kept lazily swinging – back and forth and back and forth. Actually the swinging made her feel better. The moon was so big! It was huge and the clouds were almost dancing in the sky. Lightning bugs were darting here and there and she could hear tree frogs chirping. Oh, she loved tree frogs. So did her mother. From the time Oak was a little girl, her mother taught her that frogs, especially tree frogs, could be her best friends. She would say, “Oak, if it storms really badly and you’re frightened by the thunder, just listen for the tree frogs to start singing; for they sing a lullaby to the thunder, which helps to calm and quiet it down. Also, if there should be a flood, tree frogs are famous for helping little girls and boys climb trees to get away from the flood waters.” Oak would listen to her mother for hours and hours talk about nature and all the wonderful things that most people don’t even know about or see.

Just thinking about her mother’s stories made her feel so much better. Oak leaned back on the swing to look straight up at that full moon. It’s here that Oak’s story begins to reveal a secret. (to be continued)